.Amani
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Otakon is Over
I just got back yesterday from Baltimore @ w@
A very, very long weekend. Very exhausting but I had fun while I was able to. Unfortunately my knee swelled up by Sunday, so I wasn't in the mood to hang out after breaking down the dealer's booth. But I enjoyed myself, hanging out with Ariel (former mod of EGL) on Friday, getting boozed and partying a bit with my Laura, and meeting Sukoa on Saturday, and seeing all my lovely ladies over the weekend. (And a really good looking Balthier, probably the only one on the east coast, who I plan to find and pair up with when I do Fran >w>; )
My grey lenses came yesterday :/ They were on the porch as I was rolling up with my suitcase. sigh. needless to say I was kind of pissed, but it's whatever, it's in the past now.
I had fun cosplaying Michiko. Though the outfit wasn't completely how I wanted it, but the experience was nice and I definitely plan to do it again~ especially with Nicole as my Atsuko maybe for NYCC? And maybe I'll be able to do her main outfit. And I'll have my lenses >A>
We took pictures at the photo studio too, so hopefully she'll send me those photos soon and I'll post them up at some point.
I also got a bunch of nice freebies, half I'm keeping and half I'm planning to give away and sell x3 Photo post will come soon, as well as circle lens + store reviews, wig + store reviews, and July's haul post.
For now though, I'm going to rest. I caught the "post-con flu" again so now I'm trying to rest a bit more.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Otakon is finally here.
It's 4am in the morning and I'm just sitting here completely frustrated over packing. I barely have to stuff my suitcase (compared to last year), but I loathe this thing about cons regardless. And right now just so happens to be the tensest of times.
My cosplay is mostly together now. Lolita outfit? Planned. Essentials? Almost got all that together. Makeup and hair stuff? got em. Electronics? charged; chargers? packed. Tumblr-- trying to queue enough posts to flood the whole weekend.
My lenses however, never came. It's itching the back of my brain and I'm getting pissed off the more that I think about it... because I just have a FEELING they will arrive tomorrow, after I'm already in Baltimore. It's bothering me so bad that they won't be in my bag when I hop on that bus.
I'm trying to think of a friend who will still be in the city in the afternoon who would be able to quickly go to my house and pick up my crap if it does manage to arrive. But that will be pretty difficult, the weather is supposed to be not that good tomorrow and it just. ugh. The tense feelings just pile up.
I just want my lenses. Is that too much to ask for?
/rant
Monday, July 23, 2012
I won a giveaway!
I won two pairs of circle lenses off of Tumblr!
I've been freaking out because I barely ever win anything xD so this is a pleasant surprise!
I won a pair of GEO Angel Green lenses, and a pair of GEO CK-105 Black lenses.
the CK-105 Blacks
Angel Greens~
I'm pretty excited! They seem really nice~ I'm trying to see if I can get them shipped fast to me and arrive by Wednesday. I figure that if my grey lenses don't make it on time, I'll settle with the black lenses for my cosplay. (Though I'll be whining about accuracy, I'm sure..)
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Otakon cosplay preparations
I'm leaving in three days and I'm becoming anxious because of my lens order.
I'm mad because I wasted almost 2 weeks waiting on koreabigeyes or whatever to process and ship my order, which they never did. But they were able to refund me with the quickness :/ That just irked me. I'm here like, you could've sent my stuff within 2-3 days and I'd have it by now, no problem? But they wanted to lay back on it, even when I said I needed it before the end of the month
So when I got my refund I ordered from Kiwiberry1. Decided to go with the EOS Max Pure Greys, which I often saw advertised by Ageha models like Sayaka~
The only thing that bothers me is that you can kind of see the original eye color in the middle.. Shara did a review on them here. I'll deal with them, as long as they come in on time...
Outfit-wise, I'm practically done.
I decided to go with Michiko's denim onepiece outfit from Episode 3, since it was easy for me to just put together with my own clothing and doesn't involve me hanging my gut out.
Boom. lol. e___e
and I also made the images of Hiroshi and the crappy scribble of Hatchin to go with my look..
I traced/drew the Hiroshi photo with my pencils, but the Hatchin photo... LOL that image is so terrible I can't possibly replicate it. I just captured the head part on Photoshop and then carefully tried to draw the body and printed it out that way.Now all that's left are her shades in that image, similar jewelry to what she's wearing, and then the circle lenses and makeup. Planning to try and get some lip makeup to get that her lip look, as well as new mascara and eyelash glue. I brushed out my half-wig and I'm going to wash it and make it a bit straighter.
I'm a bit anxious, it being my very first actual cosplay, I'm worried that I'll end up not liking it at the end. Or rather, liking my figure ... but I can't do much about that >w>
Anyways, if you are going to Otakon this coming weekend, I'll be working in the dealer's room at Alik's Cosplay! Come and visit me sometime ♥
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Bronzegoddess01's Dietbet Challenge
(via her FB fanpage)
Bronzegoddess01 is an African-American youtuber that I've been watching for at least a year or so now~ she's always been impacting me with her inexpensive bargain shopping hauls, strawberry letters, and inspirational talks about faith and self-improvement.
So just recently she decided to start a little fun competition to lose weight with her followers, etc. through a site called Dietbet~ her specific challenge is $5 to enter, and the winning goal is to lose 4% of your current body weight (Dietbet has a system to make sure you're not lying or cheating lol xD)
So for example, my current weight is about 156 lbs~ so my goal is to lose at -least- 6 1/2 pounds or more in order to win. Mind you, there will be multiple winners so the pot would be split among all the winners. If -everyone- wins, you'd be basically getting the $5 you submitted xD Which is better than losing it completely, in my opinion. Right now the pot is at $270, but it'll grow as more people join, of course.
So I'm using this to motivate myself to try and go further along with becoming more fit. I've been slacking because my knee started messing up again after doing some exercises in my home, and I'm getting that checked out next week at the orthopedics :/ But in the meantime, I'll still be pressing myself to take more notice of my food intake, and doing the best I can to work out.
Just for reference, this is my body so far~ it's not so bad at the moment, though once I eat my usual salty foods I puff like a blowfish xD I'm still at my usual 36"/33"/41" measurement~
SO! I just wanted to post this in case it strikes anyone's interest at the last minute. The competition starts on tomorrow, July 19th so there is maybe 24 hours or less to sign up. Not sure if you can sign up after the start or anything like that, but if you're interested, join in!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
My Sister's Wedding!
I just got home not too long ago from the Poconos to see my sister finally get married to her boyfriend of ??? (I don't even remember xD) years. If ya'll ever read my old facebook (I might have posted here as well?) The actual planning of this wedding was very hectic and last minute... from venue, to guests, to my sister buying a dress from M*lanoo (shriek, I know e_e) but I'm glad it came out alright. The dress actually came out nice, and everything else more or less fell into place. There was a point in time where I was probably not going to go... but I'm glad I did, and I got to see the excitement and the emotions flowing between my sister and her fiance. It was a bit of an eye-opener to see how much he actually felt for my sister.
It was at Cove Haven, this couple's resort spot, and it was... alright xD Like the activities and everything they have for their customers are nice, but the wedding procession was kind of meh in my opinion. But it's whatever. As long as everything was good to my sister~
Anyways, more pictures~ I didn't take too many since I was a bridesmaid and all. So mostly everything was taken during champagne and cake.
Their little gangster posing..
Me and sis <3
Mommy with my niece Ashanti, who wanted to walk everywhere/climb anything/touch everything.My own outfit shot~
I looked into one of my sujimori mags to put this hair together. AND IT ACTUALLY STAYED FOR A FEW HOURS. It was a serious miracle, I thank God the weather wasn't all that bad today, otherwise my hair would've been ruined the moment I stepped out the house..Makeup I tried to keep it toned down for the wedding. I didn't want to do my usual, especially since my sister doesn't really feel that gal-style make is necessary for me xD She's always going "why do you wear false lashes??? your lashes are already ridiculously long!", etc.
The dress is pretty~ and I got it for 40 bucks xD One of the evening gown retail/wholesale places on 37th street had this on clearance.. and only in a size 8. So I got it and surprisingly it fits pretty well. Besides, yknow. my gut and all ; ^;The dress is like a chiffon-type of material, and sprinkled with navy colored glitter all over. It was nice, not overbearing-- the only thing is that the glitter started rubbing off and sticking to everything, obviously xD
The shoes are what I got off of Style.ly 2 weeks ago~
Me and shanti~
And then myself with my two younger brothers. Crazy how they're BOTH taller than me all of a sudden... but okay e___eI'm glad that my sister god hitched, and I pray and hope that they continue together on this lifetime journey and make it an experience they will never forget or regret <3
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Dreams of Travel~
One of my local friends, Yanise, is currently visiting Japan. So much envy right now. She managed to suddenly go on a whim, with only a month's preparation. wtf!
She started a little vlog channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ycabrera47/
Looking at her videos and her pictures on Facebook, and seeing a bunch of my other blog follows post videos and photos of their travel adventures, I can't help but feel bad about myself ; w;
One day I will travel... there is the mission trip to Guyana at the end of the year, but I want to go to Japan too! As well as Brazil, Europe, India, etc... I'd love to see all sorts of sights before I hit a certain age and begin to settle down. I met so many people from abroad, which is what I love about being a New Yorker, but I've yet to really travel myself.. even within the states, like California or Florida by myself.
It's depressing to think of the job situation though... nowadays companies want so much work experience out of people for entry-level jobs. Even retail. How am I supposed to get experience if no one is willing to take me in??? There's pressure to get some sort of college degree, that no one really values anymore anyways.. sometimes I really wonder, "what's the use?"
Blah, one day I'll get another job. I know I will. I'm just worried about my knee problem and how bad that might get, if it'll cause me even more issues with keeping a job... I have an appointment with the orthopedic doctor near the end of the month right before Otakon, and I'm hoping that he will be able to figure what's wrong with me. If it's something bad, I'd rather get surgery first before I try and score a job... I don't want to be in and out of the hospital like last year.
For now though, I'm looking forward to Baltimore, and Guyana when that trip comes up in 5 months ~ I'm also meeting a Japanese gal named Kayo next week too (who's been on a trip around the world-- New York is the 11th spot on her list! She's been all over Asia and Europe so far.. and she's only like halfway through @ w@ so freaking jelly). So I plan to make the most with this stagnant situation until then.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Today's Outfit~
Today I went out to a birthday celebration for the shepherd mother of our church~ it was supposedly near 100 degrees today, though it didn't really feel like it. Thank God it was mostly cloudy otherwise I would've baked.
I really wanted to wear one of my new wigs out with my hat, so I put this coord together. The dress I had gotten from Rainbow's~ the print reminded me of MA*RS a bit, not on point though. the blue is like a hinted floral design, with the zebra print and whatnot. I felt my wig would pop nicely against the blue and that the animal print would look okay with the more toned down leopard print in my hat.
Hat: Papaya ($5 clearance)
Dress: Rainbow's ($17)
Shoes: Square One ($5 clearance)
Accessories: from mom~
The top is held up by some straps to do a small halter neck thing~ the straps had ethnic looking beads and stuff so I wanted to add a bit more by wearing my shell necklaces.
Colonic Hydrotherapy~
So finally, yesterday was the day of sh*ts~ the day I'd finally try out the colonic hydrotherapy LOL. I went to the Cleansing Day Spa in Downtown Brooklyn, after I had bought a Lifebooker for a $30 treatment. (Their usual price is $55 per treatment)
The place itself was at 222 Livingston St on a 2nd floor. When I entered the metal steps were creaky and loud but then entering the lobby is was nice and clean. They share the space with an acupuncturist which I may look into later >w>
I had to take a lot of fiber, fruits&veggies and water beforehand and I.. didn't really do that. I didn't do anything for July 4th (read: eating a bunch of meat), but I actually didn't have much of an appetite either. I ate the rest of the box of my raisin bran, and then the morning of I ate a pretty big bowl of oatmeal.... then I tried to gulp down 3-4 glasses of water last minute. So being at the lobby I wondered how much of a jacked up experience this would be, because I was too lazy to actually go through with the pre-treatment preparations.
It wasn't too bad. The actual colonic room was like a huge bathroom, it had a toilet and a sink in there, as well as a TV (that wasn't on) and a standing fan. And then the 'Colenz' colonic machine. It felt sanitary enough, I didn't have much issue with the atmosphere. The specialist, if anything was more like an assistant who guided you through the process. That particular place is more 'self-serve' and it was weird, but I'm glad because it probably would've been awkward to have someone there for an hour with you.
I had to figure out how to release, wondering if I was doing it right or whatever so for the first 15 minutes I was being derpy, but after getting used to the pattern everything went more smoothly. But for most of the time I was feeling super tense because of the water pressure and trying to pass whatever fluids for an hour. I was feeling so free after the treatment xD Less because of all the junk that was released from my body, more because my bowels didn't have to work anymore. Afterwards they gave me some liquid multi-vitamin and water with a pill to help regain the natural bacteria in my system and I was on my way.
Experience itself was okay, I know that this was the 'hardest' one being that it was my first time. I think I want to try to make another appointment with an actual specialist being there the whole time with you, to make an actual judgment about hydrotherapy. Knowing that Otakon is soon approaching and I have to save up for a passport for my Guyana trip, I probably won't be able to follow-up right away. In the meantime? I'm gonna see if I happen to lose some more weight after this treatment. xD Going to take my dieting up a notch, look into safe water pills, continue trying to exercise more despite my knee always wanting to fail. I went to Modell's after the appointment and almost all the stuff I want (5-18lb weights, jump rope, waist trimmer, knee brace, sports bra top, running shorts, etc.) are all 10 dollars or under besides the 5-8lb medicine balls... so I will hopefully get those to get them out of the way = u= yes.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Day at Preston Bailey's Office~
Thursday was the day I finally went to see celebrity designer Preston Bailey. The whole night before I was freaking out, with "What am I going to wear???" "How am I going to do my hair???" "ohmahgaw what am I going to say??? What am I going to ask him???" "How do I keep myself from gawking and foaming at the mouth??? ShouldIBringOneOfHisBooksForHimToSignForMe???"
It's kind of like this... when you meet someone who has influenced and inspired you so much through their work, that gave you dreams on top of dreams on top of dreams, it's so hard to keep your composure. I have met actor/music celebrities before and they make you feel a certain way seeing their personalities through their music and influencing you emotionally, but with artistic stuff I think it's a bit different. Rather than seeing a hot stud with a velvet voice, I think with an artist is more like seeing a brain. A huge living brain, where there are colorful currents glowing throughout it in many different colors... (disco brain?)
It kind of gets all scientific because you want to know what they're thinking, what they can get from your personality from the moment you walk in. If you were mentally able to (read: not gawking and foaming at the mouth), you want to sort of put their skills to the test just to see how they're like. You want to soak up whatever they to give to you in hopes that you would leave their presence being twice as good as you went in there.
So I was very excited. In the morning I wore something super cute but warm (because I'm still on my consecration... so no super cutesy, ruffly outfit for me :c) and it was 95 degrees but since that was the only outfit that kind of displayed my personality, I went with it. Put on one of my cute wigs, and headed out the door...
When I was approaching the front door, I was just imagining what the studio must look like. Would it be some huge square showroom? How many employees would be there? How huge must their design center be? What Preston's office door must look like? The building must be one with a front lobby with a security guard, right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
